This invention relates to new and useful improvements in holding devices for use in conjunction with a foldable outdoor chair whereby the sportsman using said chair may support a fish pole or rod, a drink and a cigarette or any combination thereof, thereby freeing his hands for other activities.
Based on years of personal experience and observation, I believe that the majority of today's fishermen prefer to fish from a riverbank, lake or ocean shore while seated in a foldable chair such as those aluminum tubular chairs commonly sold for patio and garden use. However, among the most annoying problems facing such a fisherman is what to do with the pole after casting the bait into position and while waiting for a strike. Some fishermen have been seen to solve the problem by piling rocks on the handle of their poles while others use a combination of a forked stick and rock, and still others, in desperation, simply lay their poles on the ground. Obviously none of these solutions is wholly satisfactory.
Nor are the devices such as those taught by Nebergall et al (U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,660) and Fravel (U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,753) completely satisfactory because each is specifically designed for attachment to the gunwall of a row boat and do not lend themselves to on-shore use.
Another annoyance accompanying the fisherman, who has usually located himself on an irregular or sloping surface contiguous to the water, is the lack of a suitable place to set his can of soda or beer or his glass of other liquid refreshment if, during a lunch break or the like, it is essential that he use both hands to bring home a welcome visitor to the end of his line. The current practice of setting it "somewhere" just doesn't work well because usually "somewhere" isn't level and the beverage is usually spilled. Similarly, an appropriate resting place for a cup of live bait such as worms is also frequently needed.
A further annoyance to those anglers who still smoke is the lack of a suitable place to rest or snuff out smoking items such as cigars or cigarettes or the like, when again, the task of landing a catch requires the use of both hands. Nor is clenching the item between one's teeth a satisfactory alternative because without a free hand to maneuver the cigarette, the fisherman could burn his lips from too short a smoke or the smoke emitting therefrom could obstruct his vision and abort the catch. Nor is placing a cigarette on a nearby rock or the ground a satisfactory alternative when the area contains dry tinder-like materials which could flare. Nor is the pollution of our waterways by casting the burning item thereinto a satisfactory alternative because most outdoorsmen are keenly sensitized to the evils of such a form of pollution.
Thus a need exists for a device which can accompany a fisherman into the wilderness which will allow him to support his fishing pole during the wait between strikes and which, upon detecting a strike, will allow him to quickly and safely free his hands from drinking or smoking articles so that he may adroitly, and without the distraction of spilled liquids or smoldering mulch, bring home his catch.
Accordingly, one of the prime objects of the present invention is to provide a simple-to-use, inexpensive-to-manufacture, easy-to-carry, quick-to-install, multi-purpose device which provides a fisherman seated in a foldable chair or the like a readily accessible support for his fishing pole, his drink, his bait and his smoking materials or any of them as the need arises.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an efficient pole holder which secures the pole in proper position while allowing for the quick removal of the pole therefrom without slackening of the line or damaging the reel when a fish strikes.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel device which includes in combination a support bracket to which may be readily affixed an efficient and accessible pole holder, and a drink support which avoids spillage of a receptacle placed thereupon even during the excitement and movement which occurs when a fish strikes the bait.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel device including in novel combination with a support bracket, a pole holder and a drink support, a tray-like member having the ability to receive and hold burning smoking materials and the ashes therefrom and to snuff out such materials quickly and safely so as to avoid igniting surrounding brush.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel device including in novel combination with a support bracket, a pole holder, a drink support, and a tray-like member for receiving and holding smoking material, or any desired combination thereof to enable owners of foldable lawn chairs to maximize the enjoyment thereof.
These and still further objects of the present invention as shall hereinafter appear, are fulfilled by the present invention in a remarkably unexpected fashion as can be readily discerned from a careful consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, especially when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which like parts bear like numerals throughout the several views.